An Exhibition by Starch Designers in Beirut

Last night I attended "Starch Your Summer" with our contributing editor Serine Dalloul at the Beirut Art Center. On view are specially designed capsule collections by all the ‘STARCH’ designers including clothing, accessories and interior products carrying the signature style of each designer.

Participating designers are: Ghita Abi Hanna, Najla el Zein, Racha Abbas, Deena Wassef, Nadine Mneimneh, Rana Mikdashi, Rayya Morcos, Ronald Abdallah, Rami Kadi, Lara Khoury and Missak HajiAvedikian. Installation created by Najla el Zein. I will be interviewing many of these talents in upcoming posts.

THE CONCEPT: STARCH To develop and strengthen the design industry in Lebanon, Rabih Kayrouz and Tala Hajjar believe it must be constantly renewed by the introduction of fresh talent. To this end, Kayrouz and Hajjar have committed themselves to an annual non-profit program of a rotation of young designers from different fields in the industry. In collaboration with Solidere, they have also created a space for these subsequent groups of young designers to present their work.

The NAME: STARCH Chemically, Starch is a WHITE, odorless, SOLID carbohydrate, typically composed of long chains of glucose molecules. It is the most basic form of all carbohydrates, a PURE substance, which is INSOLUBLE in water. In the textile industry, it is used in the manufacturing of adhesives, paper and textiles as a HARDENING or BONDING component. The designers behind ‘STARCH’ possess the same qualities as the substance for which the space is named. They are the component parts, the building blocks and the creative agents of a burgeoning fashion and design industry in Lebanon.